Many different models of automatic pinspotting machines, i.e., pinspotters, are in use in bowling centers throughout the world today, several of which have been produced by AMF, namely the 82-30, 82-70, 82-90, and 8800 Gold models. The first commercially available pinspotter was the model 82-30, produced in 1952. Over the years, though, as technological advances have been made in the areas of electronics, metal working, and plastics, progressive models of pinspotters have been developed. A parallel contributor to the need of new designs has been an increased demand in functionality as the sport of bowling has evolved over the years.
Many pinspotters and bowling lane systems include a control chassis. These control chassis provide the intelligence required for operation; however, these chassis are not directly linked to all of the subassemblies of the bowling system such as, for example, the foul line detector. In these instances, some of the subassemblies include their own logic, which is merely transferred to the chassis or other components. This adds to the complexity of the system from both an installation and maintenance standpoint.
Each pinspotter employs three motors, all of which must be powered on and off at precise moments for the machine to perform properly. Also within a pinspotter is a plurality of cam based switches which control the movements of the machine and provide information to the chassis to direct its control of the motors. The three motors are the Back End motor, Sweep Drive motor, and Table Drive motor. Functions such as lifting bowling pins, distributing bowling pins to their proper waiting locations, separating a delivered bowling ball from the bowling pins, and returning the bowling ball to an awaiting bowler are handled by the Back End motor. The Sweep Drive motor, on the other hand, causes motion to the Sweep Linkage (gate) which is responsible for pushing fallen pins into the pit area of the pinspotter. The Table Drive motor operates the Table mechanism which sets the pins on the lane surface.
Early control chassis were large and heavy, and each pinspotter required its own chassis. Also, numerous electrical connections had to be made within the machine. The early pinspotters were not designed for modularity, making troubleshooting and repair difficult and time-consuming tasks.
In the early 1990's, AMF developed a state-of-the-art control chassis called the XL Chassis. In this design, one chassis controlled two pinspotters. The XL Chassis was considerably less bulky than the earlier chassis and highly modular. Individual wires with solder connections and terminal blocks were replaced with cable harnesses which used locking plug-style connectors. As an added component, the Front End Box handled some of the processing for the XL Chassis and provided push button machine controls at the front of the pinspotter. Functions such as ball detection, foul detection, ball lift control, and pinspotter reset switch were handled by the Front End Box and communicated to the Chassis. However, there were only limited functions available with this Chassis. Another added feature was a communication link between pinspotter chassis from one pair of pinspotters to another. This network of chassis was then controlled by the Manager's Control Unit located at the Front Desk of the bowling center. Individual or groups of pinspotters could now be tasked by front desk personnel.
Although much was accomplished in redesigning the control chassis of the pinspotter, nothing has been done to date to improve the feedback given to the chassis from the pinspotter. The same switches and cams used to coordinate the motions of the Pin Table and Sweep subassemblies within the pinspotter remained unchanged. With no means for this new chassis to communicate its functions/errors to an operator via digital display or LCD, diagnostics were limited to several LEDs which lit to show open/close status of the pinspotter's switches. Also the cams and switches were in regular need of adjustment and maintenance by the operator. Demands from the market for increased reliability, decreased maintenance, and user-friendliness have created a need for a more advanced control system for the automatic pinspotter.